Meandering Kane

Welcome to the world of Solomon Kane!

It is 1602, the last years of the seemingly never-ending reign of Good Queen Bess. It should be a good time to be an Englishman. The Spanish Armada lies defeated at the bottom of the English Channel and the English fleets are free to roam the globe in search of mercantile opportunities and adventure.

Undiscovered lands and mysterious kingdoms are there to be discovered. The steaming jungles of South America and Africa, the ancient civilizations of Far Cathay and the Hindoos.

But all is not well… Religious discord threatens a return to the burnings and quarrels of the past and the succession remains a matter of hot debate. “What would happen if Elizabeth died?” “Who will rule the country when she is gone?” Enemies of England gather their forces and who knows what evil lurks in the shadows. Political and primitive atavistic evils unite to seek the downfall of good and those kingdoms which promote freedom and democracy.

Meandering Kane
Comments

“Queen Elizabeth I (r.1558-1603) succeeded her sister Queen Mary and adhered to the Protestant religion and restored Protestantism as the official religion. She did, however, firmly believe that people should be allowed to practice the Catholic religion without fear of recrimination so long as it presented no threat to peace in the realm and her rule over England”

I’ll admit that there was much less democracy, but the seeds were there with a parliament and a separate House of Commons.

http://www.elizabethi.org/uk/power/

In summary, certainly some “freedom and democracy” and possible more in England than anywhere else in the world at that time.

The bit about the Polish peasants “being poor but still having their freedom” — historically cobblers even for the enlightened Polish-Lithuanian Commonwewalth — reminded me…

From the intro:

“What would happen if Elizabeth died?” “Who will rule the country when she is gone?” Enemies of England gather their forces and who knows what evil lurks in the shadows. Political and primitive atavistic evils unite to seek the downfall of good and those kingdoms which promote freedom and democracy.

Ah, the “freedom and democracy” of 17th century England. Pah. Guess again.